Mounds View Public Schools

District National Merit Finalists

March 5, 2010 -- Mounds View Public Schools students were named National Merit Scholarship Finalists recently. In total, five Mounds View High School students and two Irondale High School students were named Finalists. In addition Mounds View High School's Maimuna Lubega and Irondale High School's Keziah Ojika were named National Achievement Scholars.
Irodale students (pictured at left from left to right with the school's principal Scott Gengler): Erik A. Johnson and Michelle M. Victoria

Mounds View students (pictured below from left to right): Kevin Zang, Katherine Zimmerman, Simon Zhang, Christina Hu and Vince Kato

Recognition by the National Merit Scholarship program is one of the highest honors a student can receive for outstanding academic achievement. See below for a list of top Metro schools.

Irondale students named to All-State Ensembles

March 5, 2010 -- Irondale High School musicians were named among the most accomplished high school student musicians in the state recently when they were selected to participate in the 2009-2010 All-State Ensembles. Each year, more than 2,000 students audition for the Minnesota Music Educators (MMEA) All-State Ensembles and an estimated 575 student musicians are selected to participate in an week-long summer music camp and a final performance for state music educators at the MMEA Mid-Winter Clinic in February. Irondale High School students who were named to the All-State Ensembles are pictured here from left to right. Pictured in the back row: band students John Roy (trombone), Erik Katovich (saxophone), Ryan Schlotterback (percussion) and men's choir student Spencer Johnson. Pictured in the front row: orchestra students Claire Ensminger (violin), Mike Obert (cello) Dan Bradley (Tuba), Alison Chorn (percussion) and mixed choir student Grace Cernohous. Not Pictured: women's choir student Alex Razskazoff.

Chippewa’s futuristic thinkers compete in D.C.

March 1, 2010 -- Chippewa Middle School's Future City team placed fourth in the National Future City Competition in Washington D.C. in February. The team competed against 39 teams from across the country after taking first place for their Future City design at the state competition earlier this year. Chippewa's Future City team, seventh-grader Jered Everson and eighth-graders Joe Morey, Christian Oswood and Linnea Savereide, are led by Chippewa teacher Nancy Roussin and Jo Jackson, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Minnesota who was once a Chippewa student and Future City National Champion (2002). In addition to taking fourth place overall, the team also won awards for Best Model and Most Innovative Energy. Sponsored by National Engineers Week and coordinated by Success Beyond the Classroom, Future City is a national program that introduces students in grades seven and eight to engineering.

Mounds View students take first at Spanish competition

March 5, 2010 -- A total of 43 Mounds View High School Spanish students won medals at Festival Quijote (the State Spanish Contest) in February. Festival Quijote provides all Minnesota Spanish students an opportunity to learn about, and display their talent in, the language and cultures of Spain and Latin America.The following students won first place in the categories named below:
Crafts: Laura Kaiser
Skits: Nick Helgeson, Ryan Vijums and Alex Wald
Visual Art: Tessa Anderson
Essay: Alexandra Stych
Music Video: Chelsea Hennen, Aaron Jacobson, Nathan Loomis, Trevor Romanko, Jacob Soderberg and Kevin Lahr
Demonstration Video: Qian Chen, Jonathan Keller and Yue Zhang
Discussion Group: Trixie Susas

For a list of all Mounds View High School Festival Quijote award winners, please click here. Festival Quijote is hosted by the Minnesota Chapter of the American Association of Teachers and Spanish and Portuguese.

District German students score among best in the country

February 24, 2010 -- District students were among an estimated 26,000 students nation-wide to participate in the National Standardized German Exam sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of German. Irondale and Mounds View High School students who scored in the 80th percentile or above totaled 21 students this year with 12 of these students scoring high enough to go on to compete for an all-expenses paid trip to Germany.

Students who scored in the 90th percentile or above on the National German Exam include:
Irondale High School
German II students: Elizabeth Johnson, Matthew Johnson and Laura Rotering
German IV student: Erik Johnson

Mounds View High School
German II students: Lucia Baker, Mary Cherne, Leif McLellan and Tyler Wiegert
German III students: Alex Breyfogle, Briana Johnson and Erik Svensson
German IV student: Lindsay Nevalainen

The following students scored in the 80th percentile:
Irondale High School
German III students: Brent Connolloy and Ian Nederhiser
German IV student: Luke Glesener

Mounds View High School
German II students: Nadine Anton and Christina Rausch
German III students: Erika Senyk and Derek Tomhave
German IV students: Andrew Carlson and Jeff Barcus

Mounds View Senior named Miss Basketball finalist

February 22, 2010 -- Megan Lauck, a senior at Mounds View High School, was named among the finalists for the Minnesota Miss Basketball 2010 title. She was one of only 37 high school girls basketball players from Minnesota schools named as a finalist. Lauck is a forward on the Mounds View High School girls basketball team.

Triple A award winners named

February 22, 2010 -- Irondale's Allison Kraft was named the Region 5AA Triple A award winner for demonstrating excellence in the classroom, on the athletic field and in fine arts.

Allison Kraft was also named a KARE 11 Academic All-Star recently and she was featured in a February 16 KARE 11 news story titled "Irondale Senior speaks softly, carries a big brain."

District students chosen for MBDA Honor Band

February 18, 2010 -- Highview Middle School student Naomi Ruetz and Chippewa Middle School students Ellen Brough and Rachel Berglund have been selected for membership in the Minnesota Band Directors Association Middle Level Honor Band for the 2009-10 school year. They are two of only 82 students selected from more than 321 who auditioned this winter for a position in this group. They will have the opportunity to work with some of the finest music educators in the state as their section coaches. The Middle Level Honor Band will perform a concert at 3 p.m. on April 18 at Marshall High School.

District dancers qualify for state

Febraury 8, 2010 -- The Irondale Girls Varsity Jazz and Kick Dance teams and the Mounds View Viewettes qualified to compete in the state competition. The team will compete with some of the best dance teams in the state at the Target Center on February 12 and 13.

Signing Day

February 3, National Signing Day, was a big day for student athletes who signed letters of intent. Irondale's Jimmy Gjere signed with the University of Minnesota (football) and Gina McDonald signed with Harvard (hockey). Mounds View High School's Kayla Sawtell signed with Howard (track & field) while Kris Fleigle (football) signed with Minnesota State University Mankato and Billy Turner (football) signed with North Dakota State.

Irondale athletes to compete at State Ski Meet

February 8, 2010 – Irondale's Jack Stang, Andrew Perry, Hailee Warnke and Luke Jankowski have been named among the top high school skiers in the state. Stang, Perry and Warnke will compete at the State Alpine Ski Meet. Luke Jankowski will represent Irondale at the Nordic Ski Meet. The State Ski Meet will take place on February 10 at Giants Ridge. Click here to link to a news story on the Irondale skiers.

Irondale wins School Spotlight Award

January 14, 2009 -- For the third consecutive year, Irondale High School was named a recipient of the Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation "School Spotlight Award." Irondale is one of only 10 schools in the state to receive the award in 2009 which recognizes schools that demonstrate academic excellence through significant gains in student achievement and teaching to individual differences.

District student, staff and parents recognized for public service

January 14, 2010 -- Irondale senior Michelle Wheeler and Patty St. Peter (pictured), the school's instructional strategies facilitator, have been named recipients of the Northwest Youth & Family Services Service to Youth Award for their contributions to public service. They will be honored at an awards celebration on February 11 at the Kay Andrews Discovery Center in Shoreview. Wheeler is an effective student leader who serves as Irondale's student council president and represents the senior class as class president. She is a peer mentor and is actively involved in a number of leadership roles in school and in the community. The Northwest Youth & Family Services Service to Youth Award will recognize St. Peter for her tireless efforts to help each and every student at Irondale learn, grow and be his or her individual best. In addition, Mounds View Public Schools parents Rand and Beth Whillock will be recognized with the Service to Youth Award for their role in launching the District's successful LEGO League program.